i drove it over to lake Ontario to go fishing. I took the backseat out, turned it around, and put it back in, it even latches in the back so i can keep it like that while i drive.

we found a new fishing spot with a nice little trail to get to it, had some fun in 4x4 in the sand. stock tj's arent half bad, even with stock street tires. got to back right up to the water, and could have drove in if i wanted to get wet, but the patrol probably would be mad, and/ or surprised....

had a fun time, diddnt catch anything, but i got to take the jeep offroad, and had a nice relaxing evening...

p.s. the stock rear bumper doubles for a fishing rod holder, just dont drive away with them in there.... might weld some metal rods in there so they stay still... hmm, new project!!

amp kit comes in tomarrow, and i'll finally have some bass to my songs!

i just threw it in there and saw that when i unfolded it, the rear catch was holding it, i never really took the time to see if i could install it backwords and have the whole thing like it should be.... i'll do that tomarrow.... not sure if it's legal or not though

rolled back into a tree stump when i couldnt make it up a hill (it was dark and i couldnt see) the stump smashed my R.R. taillight. Crushed the plastic part of the rear bumper and dented in the rear of the jeep where the tail light mounts so its hurting.

cut off the front flares 1 inch from the hood like ive done for 3 other jeeps i run with, ordered my jeepspeed lca mounts, almost hit the buy button on the long arms again...i'm getting closer, hopefully by sunday.

Started fiddling with some hockey pucks to take up the space behind my spare tire, which is mounted on the stock tailget holder. It shakes too much when driving or when you close the tailgate.

The adapter that allows my 33" to mount on the factory jig is welded crooked, so the gap on one side is bigger than the gap on the other side.

Sheesh. I don't know what brand it is (Warrior, maybe?), but that's pretty shoddy.

I would advise you take the 33 off the stock carrier pronto. (see below)

New rear bumper/carrier assembly came today. Got it mounted up after grinding off the wheel lock I've temporarily lost the key too. Like the look of the set up, although the reviews I've read about low quality of the coatings on the rugged ridge/smitty equip is dead on. Look at the thing wrong and it chips the coating...

Anyway, the 33 on the factory mount/tailgate did some serious damage. Base of the tailgate was reinforced with some 1x1 tubing across about 20" of the back, and the carrier mounted to that. It did a good job of evening out the load of the 33 across the tailgate, but the weight couldn't be supported by the factory hinges. They are trashed. The rear gate took some oomph to open before, which I attributed (1st TJ) to the weight of the tire on the back. Fact of the matter is, the tire carrier, with the 33, is easier to open then my now empty gate. Hinges are pulled out away from the body and, without the weight of the tire to counter balance, it's harder to open now then it was before.

Now that I've got both bumpers on, I have to admit I'm not really happy with them. Love the look, but the quality isn't there. Kicking myself for not doing my original plan, of buying a mig and building my own. I could have done much more for a lot less even with a 120 volt mig. Live and learn.